3 Diversion from prosecution

3.1 In the case of more minor offences, the Procurator Fiscal
may decide to refer the case to criminal justice social work rather
than prosecuting the individual through the courts or offering
other fiscal direct measures. In such cases, prosecution is waived,
subject to successful completion of the scheme. Diversion from
prosecution schemes have been in existence in Scotland since the
early 1980s and aim to provide support and advice in relation to
the underlying causes of offending, such as problematic substance
use. In the late 1990s, the Scottish Office provided funding for a
number of pilot schemes, which were rolled out across Scotland in
2000. Historically, diversion involves relatively low volumes
compared to other fiscal disposals such as fines and warnings, or
court proceedings.

3.2 While the number of diversion cases commenced fluctuated
around the 1,000 mark prior to 2011-12 (see
additional
datasets which accompany this publication), they now sit at
around double that level. The total of 2,000 in 2016-17 showed a 7
per cent increase on 2015-16 (
Table 1). There was a sharp rise in the
proportion of cases where the person was employed/self-employed,
from 19 per cent of the total in 2015-16 to 29 per cent in 2016-17
(
Table 4).

3.4 While the number of cases commenced rose only slightly
between 2015-16 and 2016-17, they fell sharply, by 18 per cent, for
16 to 20 year olds (
Table 4). By contrast, numbers rose for all
age groups among those aged 21 and over. Despite this, those aged
16 to 20 are substantially over-represented when the population
base is taken into account - they account for 33 per cent of people
getting diversion from prosecution but only 8 per cent of the
population aged 16 to 70. This continues to reflect a general focus
on diversion for younger people.